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Relatively quiet New Year's eve for Castlegar RCMP

New Year's Eve in Castlegar was a busy night with a couple of weddings and some busloads of Albertans here to ski and party, but there were no major incidents, says Castlegar RCMP Sgt. Laurel Mathew.

In all, the local police received 81 calls for service from Dec. 24 until Jan. 1. There were no notable spikes in any particular kind of crime.

There were two incidents of mischief.

"In one case, a few youth were caught burning a toque in a public place, but no damage to any buildings occurred and the youth were sent on their way with a verbal warning," said Mathew. "One vehicle had its windows smashed. There was no new graffiti reports which had been a concern due to ongoing issues with it in recent history."

It looks like the local transit system, which was free on New Year's Eve, was well used, said Mathew.

"Although there were lots of vehicles driving around, only one person was issued a 12 hour driving suspension (by Castlegar RCMP)."

There were several drug charges stemming from New Year's Eve.

"Two Castlegar men are facing possession charges and one is facing trafficking charges," said Mathew. "There were also several instances where small amounts of drugs were seized but no charges being considered."

There were also several charges under the Liquor Control Act as well, for drinking in public, one for a minor being in possession of liquor, and two for being intoxicated in public.

"I would like to thank the Citizens on Patrol group, who kindly donated a lot of their time to patrol Castlegar and report anything suspicious to the working RCMP officers," said Mathew. "The extra eyes and ears are always a tremendous asset. The Castlegar RCMP wishes everyone a Happy New Year and all the best in 2013."

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